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LESSON 29
LESSON 31
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Lesson 30: Other Perfect Tenses

past perfect tense and question mark icons for lesson 28 other perfect tenses

30.1

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Past Perfect

Now that we’ve covered the present perfect, we’ll provide a brief overview of the rest of the perfect tenses, beginning with the past perfect (or plu-perfect) tense:

Definition of the Spanish past perfect: the past perfect indicates an action completed before another past action.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the imperfect tense:

haber imperfect tense Spanish conjugation table

Example:

‍Yo había hablado con el chupacabra tres horas antes de que Enrique desapareció.
‍I had talked with the chupacabra three hours before Enrique disappeared.

30.2

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Future Perfect

Definition of the Spanish future perfect: the future perfect indicates actions that will be completed by a certain future point.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the future tense:

haber future tense Spanish conjugation table

Example:

Habremos entregado todas nuestras tareas antes de la fecha del examen final.
We will have turned in all of our assignments before the date of the final exam.

30.3

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Preterite Perfect

Definition of the Spanish preterite perfect: the preterite perfect indicates an action completed immediately before another past action.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the preterite tense:

haber preterite tense Spanish conjugation table

* Note: This tense is very rare in modern spoken Spanish. It typically appears with a word or phrase that marks its immediacy, like en cuanto or apenas, both of which can mean as soon as.

Example:

Apenas hubiste salido del bar cuando empezó a llover.‍
You had just walked out of the bar when it started to rain.

30.4

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Conditional Perfect

Definition of the Spanish conditional perfect: the conditional perfect describes actions that would have been completed under different past circumstances.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the conditional:

haber conditional Spanish conjugation table

* Note: This often appears with the past perfect subjunctive. See another example under that section.

Example:

De joven, yo habría viajado por todo el mundo, pero no tenía dinero suficiente.‍
When I was young, I would have traveled around the world, but I didn’t have enough money.

30.5

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Present Perfect Subjunctive

Definition of the Spanish present perfect subjunctive: the present perfect subjunctive indicates past actions that might have occurred and still have relevance or impact in the present.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the present subjunctive:

haber present subjunctive Spanish conjugation table

Example:

Espero que mis hermanos hayan llegado a la fiesta sin problema.‍
I hope that my siblings have arrived at the party without any problems.

30.6

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Past Perfect Subjunctive

Definition of the Spanish past perfect subjunctive: the past perfect subjunctive is used for hypothetical scenarios, referring to actions that would have happened before another past event under different circumstances.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the imperfect subjunctive:

haber imperfect subjunctive Spanish conjugation table

Example:

Yo te habría ayudado con la tarea si [yo] hubiera podido llegar antes de la hora de clase.‍
I would have helped you with the homework if I had been able to arrive before class time.

30.7

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Future Perfect Subjunctive

Definition of the Spanish future perfect subjunctive: the future perfect subjunctive is used in legal or very formal contexts for future actions from a point or perspective in the past.

To create this tense, we will pair the past participle of a verb with haber in the future subjunctive:

haber future subjunctive Spanish conjugation table

* Note: This form is rarely used in modern Spanish – it primarily appears in older literary works and in some legal documents. Speakers use different combinations of tenses to complete these functions.

Example:

Si el examen no se hubiere hecho antes del fin del curso, usted no aprobará la asignatura.‍
If the exam isn’t completed by the end of the course, you will not pass the class.

Check out all haber conjugations in the VerbMaster Dictionary!

28.8

No Practice?

Why don’t we have practice for these tenses? A core VerbMaster principle is efficiency. You’re already practicing the conjugations of haber, and you’re already practicing the past participle for each verb. You’ve got all the pieces you need. And as an English speaker, combining these pieces already makes intuitive sense. The time you spend in VerbMaster is better spent practicing the less intuitive conjugations and expanding your vocabulary so you can get out there and start making out with attractive foreign strangers.

Practice Time!

The only way to master these verbs is through targeted practice. Fortunately for you, VerbMaster’s intelligent tutoring system makes conjugation practice a breeze!

In this session, you’ll practice conjugating haber in the imperfect tense, the future tense, the preterite tense, the conditional, the present subjunctive, the imperfect subjunctive, and the future subjunctive. So what are you waiting for? Get to studying, you’re on your way to becoming a VerbMaster!

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